Strategic Energy Modernization at Deendayal Port Expands Clean Fuel Margins, Enhances Draft to 15.5 Metres, and Slashes Tanker Turnaround Times

GANDHIDHAM / KANDLA — In a major financial and engineering intervention to reinforce India’s maritime liquid energy supply lines, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has officially sanctioned a comprehensive ₹480-crore capital package dedicated to the advanced mechanization, channel deepening, and cryogenic pipeline integration of Oil Jetty No. 8 at the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA), Kandla.

The strategic capital outlay directly targets long-standing capacity constraints across the inner creek of Kandla, which serves as the primary maritime energy lifeline feeding petroleum refineries, petrochemical plants, and LPG bottling networks across Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and the National Capital Region (NCR). Under the newly approved plan, the facility will undergo extensive capital dredging to achieve a sustained alongside operating draft of 15.5 metres, coupled with fully automated high-rate marine loading arms, multi-product cryogenic manifolds, and state-of-the-art vapor recovery units.

The modernization is designed to allow Medium Range (MR) and Long Range 1 (LR1) product tankers up to 100,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) to dock directly at quayside without having to wait for maximum high-tide stages or conduct intermediate offshore lighterage in the Gulf of Kutch.

Comprehensive Engineering Scope and Structural Upgrades

The ₹480-crore transformation package is structured into four synchronized procurement and civil engineering packages:

  • Capital Dredging and Basin Profiling (₹185 Crore): Deepening the approach fairway and the immediate berthing pocket of Oil Jetty No. 8 from the legacy 13-metre threshold to an all-weather 15.5 metres. Dredging works will feature high-precision hydrographic profiling to mitigate dynamic siltation patterns inherent to the tidal channels of Kandla creek.

  • Electro-Hydraulic Marine Loading Arms (₹120 Crore): Replacing legacy flexible rubber transfer hoses with four heavy-duty, hydraulically articulated Marine Loading Arms (MLAs) equipped with emergency release systems (ERS) and quick-connect couplers. The new array doubles liquid evacuation velocity to over 4,500 metric tonnes per hour for clean petroleum products (POL) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

  • Cryogenic & Multi-Product Pipeline Trestle Integration (₹115 Crore): Expanding the pipeline trestle corridor connecting the jetty head directly to landside tank farms. The infrastructure introduces insulated, stainless-steel conduits engineered to handle refrigerated LPG, chemical feedstocks, and emerging alternative maritime fuels including green methanol and biofuels.

  • Smart SCADA Safety and Fire Suppression Grid (₹60 Crore): Deployment of an automated supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) network featuring infrared flame sensors, automated foam deluge monitors, continuous gas-leak detection telemetry, and dynamic mooring load monitors to safeguard vessel berthing under strong tidal currents.

Accelerating Inland Fuel Evacuation and Downstream Energy Security

Deendayal Port handled an all-time record of over 70 million metric tonnes in the current fiscal year faster than in any preceding year, with liquid hydrocarbons accounting for a dominant share of total tonnage. While offshore moorings at Vadinar handle heavy crude oil intake, the inner jetties at Old Kandla process the nation's critical refined fuels, LPG imports, and industrial chemicals.

Senior logistics coordinators noted that the doubling of capacity at Oil Jetty No. 8 addresses severe operational strains across northern India’s liquid distribution grid:

  1. Refinery and Pipeline Synchronization: Liquid volumes cleared at Jetty No. 8 feed directly into the cross-country pipeline networks of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), supplying fuel reserves to interior depots without intermodal transfer friction.

  2. LPG Buffer Protection: Dedicated cryogenic pipeline hookups guarantee uninterrupted dispatches to regional bottling facilities, insulating retail consumer and commercial markets from seasonal winter heating spikes.

  3. Green Fuel Readiness: The jetty's updated manifold framework establishes the quayside architecture necessary to serve as an international green bunkering station, directly aligning with the MoPSW Harit Sagar green port guidelines.

Strategic Alignment with National Maritime Roadmaps

Announcing the approval, senior officials from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways emphasized that the investment directly supports the overarching Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal 2047 objectives. Modernizing port-owned assets alongside upcoming public-private partnership (PPP) concessions—such as the greenfield development of Oil Jetties 9, 10, and 11—ensures that Kandla retains its competitive edge as India’s highest-volume cargo gateway.

Port leadership affirmed that civil tendering and dredging contracts will be fast-tracked to achieve full operational commissioning within 18 months, guaranteeing seamless continuity for vessel operators throughout the construction period.